The Devil's Handsome Reflection
by xAredhel Felagundx
Summary: When a childhood friend of the Hardy boys starts acting strange her father calls Fenton Hardy in desperation. Fenton sends his sons hoping re-connection will help fix the rift between father and daughter. However, upon arriving the Hardy boys realise something seems to be very wrong with most of the girls in the small village and indeed the village in general.
1. Chapter 1

**Summary:** When a childhood friend of the Hardy boys starts acting strange her father calls Fenton Hardy in desperation. Fenton sends his sons hoping reconnection will help fix the rift between father and daughter. However, upon arriving the Hardy boys realise something seems to be very wrong with most of the girls in the small village and indeed the village in general.

 **Author's Note:** The first chapter does not actually include the Hardy Brothers as it's setting the scene (sort of like a prologue). Oh, yeah and don't worry. This girl is in no way a Mary Sue and the rest of the story will be largely focused on the brothers. I already have the rest of this story planned (and a bit more written) but I thought I'd upload a chapter first and see what people thought. I've not written much in a while. Let me know what you think and I hope you enjoy! :)

 **Warnings:** Minor swearing and mentioning of mental illness in this chapter. The rating of this story is M for later chapters due to gore, slight religious themes and some nudity.

 **Prologue**

"Lori, I'm home!"

James Ward had just returned home from a long and tedious day at work. There were days when being a professor had very few benefits other than the pay. His students seemed to take a strange delight in refusing to ask any questions when he gave them the opportunity to and then deciding they hadn't understood a single word he had said when the lecture had ended and he was eager to head home. Certain students were repeat offenders of this and he'd find himself watching them with tired eyes until they reached the front of the class. The onslaught of questions that would then come his way made him greatly regret his choice in career.

"Hey dad," Lori called, running in from the kitchen. "Good day?"

"Long day," James corrected, with a small smile on his face. He noticed a pleasant aroma wafting in from the kitchen. "I take it you've been cooking?"

Lori smiled clearly pleased with her achievement, "I can't take all the credit. Edward helped me a bit."

"Your brother was here?" James asked, shock lacing his tone.

Lori smiled but her expression grew slightly sad, "Yes he was. He was going to stay until you got back but Amy called saying the baby was kicking and giving her pain again. You know how worried he gets about her. He says he'll come back next week though!"

James kept his frown on the inside and smiled, "That Amy's definitely a character. She always seems to get pains whenever Edward's around here or she's supposed to come down. Must just be bad luck."

"Probably," Lori smiled but even her tone sounded slightly dubious.

"So… shall we eat?" James asked, motioning to the kitchen.

"Yes! Just give me a second I'll just set out the plates now. We weren't sure what you would want so we made lamb. I hope that's okay?"

"Sounds perfect," James said, smiling as his daughter ran into the kitchen. His smile slowly melted away into a frown as he remembered what he had to ask his daughter about. He hated this part of being a parent the most. He often felt he had no business enquiring into his daughter's personal life. She was sixteen years old and even though she was still a baby in his eyes he liked to give her the freedom to live her own life; a freedom he knew from experience he had appreciated at that age.

He walked into the kitchen and marvelled at the meal his children had prepared for him. It wasn't the best but their effort meant the world to him.

He sat down and looked to his daughter, expecting her to initiate prayers before eating. It was something his wife had always done before she went to the hospital and his daughter had continued that tradition from a young age. However, instead Lori just picked up her knife and fork and began eating. James was slightly shocked however reasoned that he was home late and Lori was probably just extremely hungry. He let it slide and began to eat himself.

"Thank you for this Lori, it's delicious," James complimented. It was a small lie. It was a little undercooked for his liking however, just from looking he could tell it wasn't undercooked enough to make them ill and that was what mattered. Lori didn't seem to hear regardless. She simply continued with her meal.

"Erm Lori…" his tone caught his daughter's attention and she looked up.

"Yes dad?"

"I hate to bring this up now but your teacher called today. Something about one of your art projects being a little inappropriate?"

"Don't worry about that dad," James couldn't help but notice the way Lori shifted her gaze back from him to her meal as her expression shifted. "Mrs Harthorn just doesn't like me."

James knew he couldn't let this drop despite how much he wanted to.

"What was this art project about anyway?"

This was again a small lie. He knew exactly what the art project had been. He just figured that by playing dumb he was more likely to get Lori to open up to him.

Lori sighed as if the whole conversation was something she really didn't want to talk about, "The art project was on expressions of emotion through art. Clearly me and Mrs Harthorn just express ourselves differently."

James ran his hand through his thinning hair inwardly groaning. Mrs Harthorn had told him everything on the phone but Lori was clearly avoiding the root of the problem. James gave up on being tactful.

"She said you drew naked women on fire with demons dancing around them?"

Lori rolled her eyes, "It was meant to be symbolic. The old bat just took it too literally."

"Lori!" James reprimanded.

"Sorry."

James couldn't help but notice that Lori didn't sound particularly apologetic at all. Again, he let it slide.

"Anyway, apparently as well as being metaphorical it was pretty graphic. She said it was a 'unique' idea but the nudity was just…"

"…so, she was fine with the demons burning people alive but nudity was the problem? Makes sense."

"Lori!" James scolded again. "Do not interrupt me."

"Dad you're missing the fact it was a group project! It wasn't just my idea. Lucy and Emily came up with it in the first place, I just painted some of it."

James groaned not liking the way this conversation was going. Lori's last statement just opened up a new can-of-worms and James realised with a sinking feeling that he wouldn't be sleeping tonight without a headache.

"That was something else I needed to talk to you about…"

Lori put her fork down on the table a little too loudly, "What?"

James let that slide too. He was getting a little tired of letting things slide.

"Lori, Lucy and Emily are a little too…wild? I'm not entirely sure if that's the word I'm looking for but you know what I mean. The issue with you missing school last month, when you left the house in the middle of the night without telling me and now this issue in art. It all traces back to them. I'm not sure they're the best influences for you…"

"Dad I want to stop this conversation now."

"Lori, we need to talk about this."

"I don't see why," Lori said, tone even but looking up to face her father. James was taken aback. The anger glistening in her brown eyes was strong and her face was flushed slightly. "This isn't a conversation I want to have with you. Who I'm friends with in my own time is none of your concern. Emily and Lucy aren't just 'wild' they're also fun to be around. I made you a nice meal and I do not appreciate being subjected to an interrogation by you."

"Lori this is not like you!" James shouted, appalled by his daughter's tone. "You've started acting like this more and more since meeting them."

"Dad I was fine when you came home, have you ever stopped to think it could be you bringing stuff up that doesn't concern you in the slightest that puts me in this mood. I was already in a bad mood because of my bitch of an Art teacher and I don't need rubbish like this from you too. My friends are my friends and if I want to go out and see them I will."

"I allow you to see them! Just not at night. I think I'm being more than fair."

"No, you're not! You're being awful!" Lori shouted, standing up and slamming her hands on the table, sending her chair behind her tumbling backwards. James visibly recoiled. "Being friends with them is the most fun I've had in a long time and I'm not going to let you boss me around. Mum would never have done it."

James felt a shock to the system, suddenly feeling as if he'd reached the root of the problem.

"Is it that you miss your mum? Is that it? I can get in touch with someone to talk to you about…"

Lori's reaction threw him completely off-guard. It wasn't what he'd expected and it wasn't at all what he'd wanted. She laughed. It felt like the laughter went on for hours even though it was probably only a minuite. James was in too much shock to speak. The laughter wasn't kind or well-natured, it was cruel and angry. When Lori finally stopped laughing she had tears in her eyes, but they weren't sad tears. They were tears of frustration.

"You're trying to say I'm crazy too now? Just like her? No. I don't miss her. I'm glad that bitch was locked up. She's not sick, she's just messed up in the head."

James was in too much shock to speak and chose to just remain silent. The speech he'd had planned about her mum loving her dried up in his throat when he realised it wasn't needed. This time he was the one to break eye contact and look down towards his lap, the lamb he looked past suddenly looking like the most unappetising meal he'd ever laid eyes on.

Lori however, usually the one to let an argument drop instead grabbed her father by the arm and turned him to face her. Her grip wasn't particularly strong but the shock of his once timid and kind-hearted daughter doing this meant James moved anyway. She knelt down so she was on eye-level with him, expression hard and unyielding. "Still want to have this conversation now dad?"

James felt his resolve strengthen as the shock of what he'd just witnessed wore off. He grabbed her hand as gently as he could with his mounting anger and removed it from his shirt. He stood and, completely avoiding eye contact, moved in the direction of the front room.

He picked up a whisky bottle he'd left next to what had been his wife's favourite armchair and took a long sip.

He heard something slam before a sequence of smaller crashes in the kitchen but ignored it. The disappointment he felt in his youngest child had just floored him and he had to take a moment to relax from the adrenaline and fury that had built in his blood. It was easy to deal with other people calling his wife 'crazy' or 'sick-in-the-head' but to hear it from their own daughter was something he'd never be able to deal with. When the neighbours spoke about his wife in that manner he'd either drop a threat he knew he'd never actually carry out or just chose to ignore them. The threat was usually enough to shut them up.

He could never threaten his daughter though. Never.

He heard Lori begin to walk up the stairs, "Lori, you're grounded for the next week apart from school and whatever you broke in the kitchen you will pay for."

Lori's angry scream and the slamming of her door was his only response.

Two hours and half a bottle of whisky later James was suitably drunk. He wasn't sure exactly when the idea hit him or why. It could have been that his old friend had called him the day before to enquire as to how he was doing or it could have been the alcohol in his system that encouraged him. Regardless James found himself picking up his phone and calling Fenton Hardy. He usually thought about the pros and cons of a decision carefully but this inspiration had hit him like a truck and he wasn't in a suitable enough mindset to argue with his instinct.

Fenton answered on the third ring.

"Hi James. I wasn't expecting to hear from you so soon after our last conversation."

"Yeah, sorry."

"There's no problem old friend." A heavy pause held for a couple of seconds before Fenton spoke again. "So was there something you wanted to speak about?"

"Yeah actually. Your sons. How old are they now?"

"Frank's eighteen and Joe's seventeen. Why do you ask?" Fenton asked sounding both surprised and vaguely concerned as he noted the grave tone in his friend's voice.

"I'm sorry to ask on such short notice but I was wondering if there's any chance they could visit soon? The semester ends soon for them too doesn't it?"

"Yes it does…" Fenton confirmed, sounding confused. "I have no issue with this and I'm sure my boys would be thrilled for the opportunity to spend some time with you and your children but may I enquire into why? You have to admit this has come a little sudden."

"You see, me and my daughter have had a few… disagreements. Her friends are bad influences on her and ordinarily I'd be understanding of this change in her life. She's wanting to spend time with a new group and I understand that. However, tonight especially she has turned into someone I no longer recognise. I feel if your boys stayed for a little while it may distract her from these bad influences. Lori and your boys were so close until we moved that I feel they may be the good influences she needs."

Fenton paused while he considered this.

"I'll speak with them but I can't imagine them arguing. Your daughter is going through a tough age though so I wouldn't worry too much about her. This new rebellious streak is probably something she'll grow out of."

"I hope so," James said smiling. "I should really go to check on Lori now. Goodnight Fenton."

"Goodnight James."

James sighed and proceeded to walk upstairs towards Lori's room, spirits slightly recovered. He opened her door quietly and noticed that she was lay on her bed. Believing her to be asleep James was about to shut the door.

"I didn't mean what I said dad. I just had a really bad day that's all."

James gave a sad smile at her implied apology.

"I understand."

He closed the door behind him. Her remorse had lightened his dread significantly.

When he returned to check on her again later he was less surprised than he probably should have been to see that her bedroom window was open and she was missing.

"


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Note:** Sorry about the long wait but finally got this chapter finished. I've finally finished planning the rest of this story. That means I'll be including new warnings as I go along. A lot of these warnings are specific to certain chapters so I'll give a warning each chapter these occur.

 **Warnings:** Religious themes in the second half.

"Where the hell are we?" Joe asked, looking at his map from odd angles. "This path is taking us in the opposite direction of where we should be going."

"Are you sure you're not just looking at it upside down or something?" Frank reasoned, grinning as his younger brother glared at him.

"I'm absolutely sure Frank. We've not been going the right way for at least twenty minuites. If you look at the map it says the forest starts here and ends here, it makes absolutely no sense for us to be alongside it now."

"Joe these are the directions that dad gave us and as dad is the one that's been up here before I'm going to trust his judgement. Come on, we're nearly there anyway."

"Couldn't he have marked the directions out on the map for us? It would have been a lot easier."

"You know he couldn't have done that Joe. Apparently, that maps pretty old and the forest has grown more in the past few years so it takes up more of the road," Frank frowned slightly as he rounded the next corner. "Though I will admit I'd like to get there before night, the road ahead looks pretty dark."

"Scared brother?" Joe teased, hiding his own discomfort under humour. Joe himself didn't like the look of the pathway ahead of them. The trees now joined on either side, leaning slightly towards each other as if forming an archway that blocked out most of the light. Their roots were stretched, as if straining to hold the weight. It looked as if a single gust of wind would be enough to send most of them falling on top of the car. The fact that the road was so narrow also served to make Joe restless as he knew if the worst happened and one of the trees was to fall there would be no way for Frank to swerve out of the way without crashing.

"Me? Of course, not," Frank said grinning. "Just worried you're going to get nightmares little brother."

Joe playfully swatted Frank's arm.

"Hey not when I'm driving!" Frank complained but remained smiling none the less.

The brothers settled into a comfortable silence for a while. It was only when the sky turned another shade darker and reached the clear dark blue, suffocating any stars that could shine down under a layer of clouds, that the silence became a little less comfortable. It was rather unsettling. The reddish shade of the sun in the distance had faded to a simple pattern of floating lights in the distance. As the trees grew denser the brother's sight of even this was blocked from view, instead falling to the path in front of them.

"Watch out Frank!" Joe shouted, pushing himself back in his seat with a jolt.

Frank, startled by his brother's shout felt something in his mind click and adrenaline fill him. Going cold down to the bone Frank swung the wheel to one side and pushed down on his break. The car halted and the force pushed the brothers back. Frank blinked a couple of times, attempting to rid himself of the adrenaline rush. He looked up to see why Joe had stopped him. Immediately he was met a pair of glowing amber eyes in the centre of the road staring back at him. In his panic, he had trouble distinguishing where the eyes came from. It took him a while to calm down but eventually he noticed the shape of the animal stood in the middle of the road.

"Stupid deer…" Joe sighed. "Stopped like it wanted to get itself killed!"

As if blinking out of its stupor the deer took off leaving the two bothers staring at it dumbfounded. Frank was shaking slightly behind the wheel but had managed to regain his sense of control. He shook his head slightly, turning to look towards Joe was staring after where the deer had disappeared, notably angry.

"Joe calm down," Frank reasoned sighing. "It's just a deer. Its instinct is to stop dead if it feels it's threatened. Just causes a problem for us."

Joe's showers lowered and his stance relaxed. He too breathed out a sigh of relief before finally turning to look at Frank with a more neutral and subdued expression.

"You okay to drive?" he asked eyeing Frank's hands that were still gripping the steering wheel far too tightly.

Frank shook his head to bring himself back to the present. He relaxed his death grip and smiled at Joe.

"Yeah. I'll be fine."

"You sure? I could take over?" Joe asked, not looking convinced. Frank cursed Joe's ability to read him so well. However, instead of relenting and letting his brother take over he laughed.

"With a road this narrow I think I'd trust that deer behind the wheel of this car more than I'd trust you."

Joe narrowed his eyes however there was a slight glint in his eye as his concern seemed to ebb away, "Hey at least I noticed said deer before you crashed into it."

Frank laughed, "True."

As Frank's laughter faded away the two sat in silence for a moment. Eventually however Frank acknowledged how dark it had become.

"We should go or we'll never get there in decent time."

Joe nodded, "Let's just hope we don't encounter any more suicidal deer on our way."

The two brothers lapsed into silence again but this time it was far more tense. Frank was completely focused on the road ahead and Joe was looking on both sides of the path just in case he'd notice anything else that could potentially endanger them.

Joe saw nothing of interest for a long time. Instead he busied himself observing the twisted and misshapen shadows the trees cast. Joe felt unease creeping from him and his mind began playing tricks. He imagined the branches of the trees as broken limbs and could have sworn he kept seeing things move in the trees. At first it was just shadows seemingly dancing between the trees, just out of Joe's sight. It was only when Frank reached a particularly narrow part of the road and was forced to slow down as much as he could without stalling that Joe noticed that maybe it wasn't his mind playing tricks on him.

Instead of seeing shadows dancing he now saw pale shapes moving slowly and gracefully in the distance. If they hadn't been so deep in the woods Joe would have assumed the shapes to be lights from the town they were heading to however Joe knew that was not the case. He was further convinced of this when one that was particularly close to them, seemingly only two or three trees away, moved in a way that Joe knew something that wasn't alive couldn't achieve.

Joe considered asking his brother to look however knew that Frank needed to focus on the road. Something about the sighting however made him shift slightly away from the window and focus too on the road ahead of him. He busied himself looking in the distance for deer. However, something about those pale shapes in the distance plagued his mind. It took him a while to realise he had been subconsciously searching for them instead.

"We're nearly there."

Joe found he had been so focused he had zoned out for a while. The trees were opening out somewhat and the path seemed to be growing clearer as lights from buildings blinked in the distance. Joe, incredibly relieved to see signs of civilisation, smiled.

"Finally. I thought we'd never get here."

Even as he was smiling a small area of his mind wanted desperately to turn around and look at the path behind him as if the shapes would be stood there. However, the morbid curiosity was quenched by unease and instead Joe continued staring towards the safety the village promised.

xxx

"Lori, we should pray before we eat. We haven't done it in a while and I'm sure your mum wouldn't approve."

The dinner table settled to an uneasy silence. Lori retracted her hands from the table and looked up to face her dad. Her expression wasn't one that James could read. She looked completely disinterested.

"Shouldn't we wait until our guests get here to eat. That was something mum always said too."

James sighed, "The boys won't be here until late so they already ate before heading out."

Lori shrugged.

"Do you think Edward and Amy pray before eating too?"

"I assume so."

"I suppose we should then," Lori's expression finally shifted from bored as she smiled placing her hands together and bowing her head.

"Can you say the prayer today dad? I think I prefer praying silently now."

"Of course," James smiled finally feeling like he was getting somewhere with his daughter. Since she had been grounded Lori had been quieter and seemed to be distancing herself. It was starting to concern him. Her nightly departures hadn't ended either. He'd just stopped taking note of them.

James spoke the prayer slowly, trying to speak in a way that was reminiscent of his wife's soft and almost harmonic tone. He felt the moment of peace stretch as he realised how long it had been since he and his daughter had prayed together. He wondered how she felt. He wondered if she felt as at ease as he did in that moment.

As his curiosity mounted he made the unconscious decision to open his eyes. He wanted to see how she was feeling at that moment. He wanted to know if she was experiencing the connection he felt as a family at that moment.

What he saw made his blood run cold.

The glow from the candles he'd lit before the meal now seemed sharper. It cast harsh crimson shadows across the room. Perhaps it always had and he'd just never noticed it before. Lori, instead of looking down at her clasped hands in prayer, was staring straight into his eyes, unblinking, grinning in a wholly unnatural way.

He had never seen her smile like that before.

Instead of feeling happy at seeing her so amused this smile seemed cold and almost crazed in its intensity. Such an intense show of emotion dispelled the peace and tranquillity he'd been feeling only moments before. The jolt of fear he felt in that moment shook him to his core. The sharp nature of the expression didn't shift. He didn't stop praying.

Eventually, he grew so unnerved that he shut his eyes again, finishing the prayer as quickly as he could.

Almost afraid to open his eyes again, James let the darkness hold for a while longer.

When he opened his eyes Lori was still smiling but the smile seemed pleasant and kind. The lines on her face were far less sharp and her eye contact had relaxed significantly. She looked completely normal.

"Shall we eat now?" she asked.

"Yes."

He wondered if he'd imagined it.

"You know sometimes I wonder why we still pray before meals. If we don't do it all the time there's not really much a point in doing it is there? I don't think we should do it anymore," Lori said, scratching at a splinter on the wooden table.

James was suddenly hit with a memory of the haunting smile. He must have imagined it.

"If you don't want to pray before dinner anymore we won't."

"Thanks dad, I love you."

"I love you too."

The candlelight flickered.

Yes... Surely he'd imagined it.


	3. Chapter 3

**Authors Note:** Apologies for the long wait. With coursework building up I haven't really had much time to write at all. Hopefully, as I have inspiration for this story again I can update more regularly in the future. Thank you for the reviews guys. I hope you enjoy this chapter. This will be a rather short chapter because I wanted to get it uploaded so people could know I do intend to continue with this story. The next chapter will be longer.

James sighed, placing his whiskey back on the table. He was drunk. Again. He'd never been a big drinker, preferring to drink with good company or with a meal. The past few years he'd begun drinking more. He kept the bottles out of sight of Lori. He didn't trust her shifts in attitude enough to assume she wouldn't drink any or steal some to take on her nightly adventures.

He looked out of the window onto the darkness of the street. The boys were late. Even later than he'd originally assumed they'd be. He wanted to sleep. His mind was caught in hazy half-awareness that he couldn't shake. When the boys arrived they would see him drunk, a thought which greatly embarrassed him. Fenton had successfully raised two boys without ever having to complain. Without ever having to ask for help. James could only wonder where he'd gone wrong.

He'd never wanted to be a controlling parent. He remembered when he was younger wanting to go play football with the boys in his neighbourhood. His parents had been strict. He'd begged and begged but nothing had convinced them. Even though it was only a few hours per week of football he was missing, he'd resented them for it. That resentment had continued until adulthood. Of course, when asked he would never had said the reason he and his parents were distant was that he'd been denied time to play football with his friends. Only a child would make that connection. Instead he'd just say it was because they'd always been that way. Though perhaps his parents overly attentive attitudes had been one of the pieces in a larger puzzle.

In not wanting to repeat history with his daughter maybe he'd been too relaxed. He'd always assumed he'd provide her with the freedom she requested, and she'd never resent him for it. What he'd received was like a cruel twist of fate. That freedom may have been what allowed her to change so drastically in only a short time. He realised it was foolish of him to assume he could be relaxed with whatever she wanted to do most of her life and then to suddenly say no and have no negative repercussions. Maybe he was the one at fault.

He yawned, still drifting. His mind was caught in a state of not quite awake but not quite asleep. Time passed quicker, seeming to speed past him and he sat in a state of numb stillness. It was the knock on the door which caused him to open his eyes, never realising he'd shut them in the first place. It took a while for his mind to catch up with the fact it was probably the boys.

Standing and dragging his feet in the direction of the hall he tried to appear more awake than he felt. The boys would understand. It was late, and most people would be tired around this hour. However, if they smelled the whisky on his breath or clothes they may assume otherwise. The best he could do was to appear like he'd been drinking but was still aware of his surroundings. The reluctance to be judged in a negative light provided him with a slight adrenaline rush. It forced his steps quicker and his position to straighten instead of being slouched. He had guests. His wife was always big on behaving normally around guests. Even if she was going through a rough patch, where most of the day she'd been shut in her room, attempting to deal with an episode, she'd brighten up if guests arrived.

" _Hospitality is the most important thing a woman can provide. If guests chose to indulge in your company, the least you can do is make that company pleasant."_

She'd often provided him with little life lessons in the form of random thoughts. Even when those lessons had proved false he'd remembered them all.

" _James, you worry too much. It's going to make you ill. I've dealt with stuff like this all my life. No, I don't need my pills. They make me unable to control myself. I wanna know if I'm slipping so I can know how to control it in the future. I don't want to sleep though my problems. I want to experience them first-hand so I can learn from them."_

Even an unhealthy life lesson held some truths. Her intentions had been good even though the result of them had reduced her progress almost entirely.

" _How do you know I even have a problem? Maybe it's just me. Or maybe I am the problem."_

He thought about that last statement a lot. Perhaps the root of the problem was him. When she'd said she didn't want to take her pills he'd allowed it, when she said she wanted to be alone he'd allowed it, now he was allowing Lori to swing off the rails. Maybe he enabled the problems.

He tried to push these thoughts to the back of his mind as he opened the door. Sure enough, it was Frank and Joe Hardy. James was relieved to see they looked as tired as he felt. Perhaps they wouldn't notice the difference in his mannerisms. They hadn't seen him for years anyway. Would they even remember what he was like before?

"Hi boys, thank you for coming up. Please, coming inside."

"Thank you for having us," Frank said. Both boys shook James' hand before entering the building. James was struck with how much the two had grown. Frank was his height, Joe wasn't far off. The last time he'd seen them they were barely up to his shoulders. He could see their father in them both. A family resemblance held in both the way they looked and the stature with which they carried themselves.

"We apologise for arriving so late, I'm afraid we had a little trouble on the road up," Joe said.

"Nothing to serious I hope?"

"Oh no nothing we couldn't handle. A deer jumped in front of the car and we had to stop rather quickly to avoid it." Frank said as they walked. James tried to ignore it as Frank glanced at the glass of whiskey that was on the table.

"Deer around here are the main cause of trouble on those roads. Five accidents in the past year. I apologise. I should have warned you in advance."

"I prefer to think Frank just doesn't know how to drive the car well," Joe commented. Frank glared but James only laughed. Then he inwardly winced. The laugh had seemed soulless even to his own ears.

"I'm sure Frank can drive just fine. He got you here in one piece, didn't he?" James could only hope he was managing to lighten the mood.

"Barely," Joe said, glancing over at the whiskey in the same manner Frank had. Like his brother he politely turned away and didn't comment.

"I assume Lori is already asleep? I apologise if we're being too loud," Frank said, clearly eager to change the subject from his driving ability.

At this James became silent. He scratched the back of his neck, a nervous habit he'd never fully realised he'd had until that moment.

"Actually no. In fact, I'm not entirely sure where she is right now."

Joe and Frank were shocked. Lori wasn't young, but she also wasn't old enough to be alone outside past midnight. If she had been missing they would have expected James' heartfelt welcome to be cut short by worry but James didn't seem particularly frantic, rather he seemed mildly stressed.

"What do you mean you don't know where she is? Did she go to a friend's house?" Frank asked, clearly confused.

James sighed. He would have preferred this conversation in the morning when he was a little less intoxicated and a little more well rested.

"Boys, Lori has been leaving the house at night for a while now. She could be at a friend's house, but I have no guarantee of that. I have spoken to her about it, but she refuses to listen to me. That's the reason I called for you two to come here."

"Well of course we're happy to help, but what do you want us to do?" Joe asked.

James sighed, "Well, as you two and Lori were close friends at one point I figured speaking to people closer to her age would help. It may even help her to distance herself from the friends I feel are responsible for the problem."

"Which friends?" Frank asked. "Lori is quite young, maybe she is just going through a rebellious phase. Perhaps it will pass." Frank said. He too couldn't see exactly what James thought they would be able to achieve.

"Wouldn't you prefer to have this conversation in the morning boys? It's rather late and I'm sure you're both tired after having travelled all this way. The guest bedroom is set up and ready."

Frank silently studied James' mannerisms. He could tell there was something the man was holding back from telling them however he couldn't deny the fact that he was exhausted. The journey up had been stressful enough for the idea of sleep to be incredibly tempting.

"But if Lori is missing don't you want to stay up and wait for her to come back?" Joe asked.

James paused for a long time. Joe wondered if he would ignore his question entirely.

"She'll be back by the morning. She always is." James replied.

His voice held a barely concealed emotion but both boys were far too tired to even attempt to work out what it was.


End file.
